Chancellor

The post of Chancellor has been an important one since the College of William and Mary was chartered in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II of Great Britain. Until 1776, the Chancellor was an English subject – usually the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Bishop of London – who served as the College’s advocate to the crown, while a colonial president oversaw the day-to-day activities of the Williamsburg campus. Following the Revolutionary War, George Washington was appointed as the first American chancellor.

Colonial Period

The College's charter, granted in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II, provided for the office of Chancellor, and during the colonial period the Chancellor served as the College's representative to the British Government. Many of the pre-Revolutionary War chancellors were either Bishops of London or Archbishops of Canterbury and served as a link between the College and the government in London. They would also help recruit faculty to come to Virginia and teach at the College. However, none of these chancellors ever set foot in Williamsburg.

With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence, the ties between The College of William & Mary and England were severed, leaving the position of Chancellor vacant until 1788. Other ties with England, such as the money from the Brafferton Estate which funded the Indian School, were also severed.

Post-Independence

Thomas Jefferson wished to alter the office of the Chancellor after the American Revolution. In 1776, Jefferson proposed a system that included three chancellors, elected from the leading men of Virginia and who would have the power to remove faculty, in place of a single chancellor. His reforms did not pass, and the office of Chancellor remained vacant until 1788.

George Washington served as the next Chancellor, an office he held from 1788 until his death in 1799. Washington was asked because the President of the College, Bishop James Madison, thought that the heritage of the position required a national figure to occupy it. The office again remained vacant until another President of the United States, John Tyler was appointed as Chancellor, serving from 1859 until 1862. Tyler was an alumnus of the College and one of his relatives, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, would later serve as its President.

After a 12 year vacancy, Warren Burger was chosen to be the twentieth chancellor of the College of William and Mary in 1986. Burger had numerous associations with Williamsburg and William & Mary, receiving an honorary degree and delivering the commencement address in 1973, speaking at Law Day in 1979, and helping to found the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg in 1976. The personal and professional papers of Chief Justice Burger are held by the Special Collections Research Center and will be open to the public in 2026.

Chancellor’s Robe

A new chancellor’s robe was recommended by members of the Board of Visitors (BOV) and Cypher Society in 1993. The BOV officially approved the redesign of the robe and authorized the president to have it designed in a resolution approved at the November 1993 meeting of the BOV.

Random Factoids

The Royal Charter of the College of William & Mary established the
office of the chancellor and set the term at seven years. The
chancellor was to be an “eminent and discreet person” upon whom the
College could rely. The Charter also named the first chancellor, Henry
Compton, who was the Bishop of London at the time. He was chosen to be
the first chancellor because the Bishop of London was the head of the
Anglican Church in the American colonies and W&M’s first president
James Blair was Compton's commissary for Virginia.
• Many of the pre-Revolutionary War chancellors were either Bishops of
London or Archbishops of Canterbury and served as a link between the
College and the government in London. They would also help recruit
faculty to come to Virginia and teach at the College. However, none of
these chancellors ever set foot in Williamsburg.
• With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of
Independence, the ties between William & Mary and England were
severed, leaving the position of chancellor vacant until 1788. (Other
ties with England, such as the money from the Brafferton Estate which
funded the Indian School, were also severed.)
• Thomas Jefferson wished to alter the office of the Chancellor after
the American Revolution. In the place of a single chancellor, he
proposed a system that included three chancellors, elected from the
leading men of Virginia, who would have the power to remove faculty.
• The first American chancellor was George Washington, who accepted
the position only months before he was elected President of the United
States. Washington was asked because the president of the College,
Bishop James Madison (cousin of U.S. President James Madison),
believed that the heritage of the position required a national figure
to occupy it. Washington served until his death in 1799, having been
appointed in 1788.
• After the death of Washington, the office of chancellor remained
vacant until it was occupied by another U.S. President, John Tyler.
Tyler served as chancellor from 1859 until his death in 1862.
• Hugh Blair Grigsby, noted historian and author, served as chancellor
from 1871 to 1881, when the College closed due to lack of funds.
Grigsby established the Chancellor’s Fund, which was the fund for the
Chancellor Professors in academic departments.
• For two years, former W&M President Alvin Duke Chandler was a very
different kind of chancellor. From 1960 to 1962, Chandler presided
over the Colleges of William & Mary, a five campus system that
included William & Mary, the Richmond Professional Institute, the
Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, Christopher Newport
College, and Richard Bland College. When the system was disbanded in
1962, Chandler occupied the role of an honorary chancellor until 1974.
• After a 12 year vacancy, Warren Burger was chosen to be the
twentieth chancellor of the College of William & Mary in 1986. Burger
had numerous associations with Williamsburg and William & Mary,
receiving an honorary degree and delivering the commencement address
in 1973, speaking at Law Day in 1979, and helping to found the
National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg in 1976. The personal
and professional papers of Chief Justice Burger are held by Swem
Library’s Special Collections Research Center. (In accordance with the
donor agreement, the Warren E. Burger Papers are closed to researchers
until 2026.)
• After the retirement of Warren Burger from the position, Margaret
Thatcher was chosen to be the first woman chancellor and the first
post-independence chancellor from the United Kingdom. She served from
1993 until 2000.
• Henry Kissinger was the first chancellor who was not a natural-born
citizen either of the United States or the United Kingdom. He served
from 2000 until 2005.
• The chancellor’s badge and chain of office is silver and bears the
College’s coat of arms. There are also elements of various other coats
of arms, including those of the Bishop of London, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, George Washington, John Tyler, the London Company, and the
seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was given as a gift of the
Society of the Alumni in 1987 and has been worn by W&M Chancellors
since. More on the chain of office:
http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/badge/index.php and
the Chancellor’s robe:
http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/robe/index.php.

Need help?

To search for further material, visit the Special Collections Research Center's Search Tool List for an overview of the Special Collections Database, W&M Digital Archive, Flat Hat-William & Mary News-Alumni Gazette index, card catalogs, and other tools available to help you find material of interest in the Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center.

The information available in this wiki is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of the College of William and Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information available here is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Information in this wiki is not complete as new information continues to be uncovered in the Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center and elsewhere. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use the Special Collections search tools for their research as the information contained in this wiki is by no means comprehensive.